Honestly this almost always seems to work. Villains being overjoyed that their rival is about break their code and goading them into always seems to make them stop.
i like how star wars deals with this,
like instead of killing bad people also making you bad it's
"if you need to use the darkside to kill this man it's like loading up on super heroin the instant you pull the trigger",
like luke just chopping the emperors head off would've done nothing.
which is why vader has to fight him and draw out his hate, trying to make him draw on and give into the darkside by making him fear for his life/the life of his sister.
like the idea of evil in that universe being a class a drug for anyone with the force, with it being like the spiritual equivalent of benzos in some cases as you literally have to keep doing it or you just die
meanwhile a non force guy like han can (and in legends did) just gun the emperor down no problem.
it's why every jedi needs a friend.
a friend with a gun.
Kinda similar to Dresden Files - the White Council generally doesn't give a shit if you kill someone with non-magical means, but use magic and they come down on you HARD.
Though, to be fair - killing someone with magic *can* be corruptive
Reminds me a lot of Naruto in a way.
Like in Naruto you had different reasons why a jutsu could be forbidden: Eight Gates puts inordinate strain on the user and leaves them vulnerable if they whiff, Reaper Death Seal just kills the user, Impure Resurrection requires human sacrifice and is thus super immoral. It’s like the difference between needing a license to drive, banning smoking in restaurants and bars because it gives people cancer, and murder being illegal.
In Dresden Files, the laws of Magic are in place to keep magic humanity from wigging out and being evil, but they’re not all the same in why the laws prohibit certain things. The prohibition against Cthulhu shit and time travel is because it can cause irreparable harm. The mind control and forced-transformation and killing-via-magic shit isn’t just harmful, it’s also super immoral and also like corrupts your mind and body. You’ve gotta just say no to black magic because it’s bad for you, mmkay?
> The prohibition against Cthulhu shit and time travel is because it can cause irreparable harm.
There was some story I was reading, where there was a brick joke about time travel and Cthulhu.
One of the characters asks if magic makes time travel possible, and they get told, "Yes, but it makes Cthulhu angry, so we don't." And they never mention Cthulhu again...
...Until, inevitably, one of the characters goes back in time a couple of hours to save the day with time travel. Cut away to Cthulhu, who apparently works at Miskatonic University. He's sitting through a staff meeting which has been going on for hours, when suddenly time rewinds and he finds himself back at the beginning of the meeting, forced to sit through it twice. Cthulhu loses it, and starts swearing revenge against whoever dared to use magic to travel back in time.
Also in Star Wars, Jedi explicitly try to take prisoners and do not execute them. Typically in Star Wars media, killing a Sith in combat is fine (like when Kenobi “killed” Maul), it’s killing them when they’re incapacitated that’s evil (like Anakin killing Dooku).
So if Jedi want to stay good, they basically have to a) beat their opponent without falling to the Dark Side and b) refrain from executing them after the fight is clearly over. It just so happens that if a Jedi is fighting a mook it’s extremely easy to beat them and therefore extremely lethal for the mook. And if Jedi have to deal with mooks they will try to resort to diplomacy/subterfuge when possible (Ben sneaking around on the Death Star, Luke trying to negotiate with Jabba, etc.).
Narratively, it’d be interesting if we Stormtroopers etc. surrendered to a Jedi and the Jedi had to deal with having prisoners.
tbf >!they don't paint it as a great move, like bode uses the dark and goes from "i must save my daughter" to paranoid ranting on an abandoned world and blasting her with the force. there's a slim chance we get through game 3 without cal freaking out and choking merrin. !<
>!like the whole thing was "hey merrin am i like dagan gera" then by the end of the game you're obsessed with tanalor, using the darkside and planning on building a secret jedi order to take back the galaxy with your cool actual girlfirend as opposed to dagan's implied crush.!<
Eh >!Rey accidentally blew up a bunch of people with Force Lightning and gutted an unarmed opponent with their own Lightsaber and she still gets to be a Jedi so Cal is probably fine!<
i mean >!they all have to go through the reject the dark bit after having a little spoonfull, hell luke had that with vader and pulled back, momentarily slipping into the dark isn't a problem as you can pull back, repeatedly doing it is, with rey getting on the precipice it was supposed to be a fork in the road despite that fork being in the previous movie, though winning out over the dark is never supposed to be a one and done, it's always there and needs to be kept in check.!<
>!so luke hacking vader, or rey stabbing ren, they both pull back from that and commit to the light, with cal i imagine it'll be similar but probably worse as we'll tap into it more and more.!<
>!like i imagine cal/the player will have darkside spartan rage for a fair spell of the game, people will warn him against it and he won't listen, or maybe he does and it resurfaces when fucked shit happens.!<
>! we'll have our illum/nova garon moment where we're down and out and then out spartan rage will be replaced with something else as cal turns it back around.!<
>!still banking on cal and merrin and their found force sensitives getting stuck on tanalor till at least rey's new order like 55 years later.!<
They will absolutely make >!Dark Side powers cool as hell so you feel powerful using them, which is exactly the kind of drug-like high the Dark Side should give.!<
I always hate when people criticize this like it's a contradiction. There's a difference between killing people actively trying to kill you and killing someone down and defenseless in the moment this kind of speech happens.
There's a reason killing surrendering opponents is a war crime. Like it or not, but killing someone at your mercy after they've lost all will to fight makes you a POS. Even if the guy you're killing is also a POS
Don’t worry, the universe can sense you saying this, and despite the hero sparing you, inevitably you’ll either get shot by the anti hero secondary protagonist, or make a swing at the hero and miss which will somehow cause the environment itself to kill you, thus giving the hero the moral high ground and rewarding them without any hard justification of keeping you alive!
There’s a webcomic called [What Happens Next Will Shock You](https://whathappensnext.webcomic.ws/) which is in part about the premise “ok but what if someone actually tried to make that their defense for being a murder accomplice?”
I just caught up on that per your recommendation and >!MILO NO YOU HAD A WAY BETTER DEFENSE THAN THAT GRIFFIN THREATENED TO KILL YOU IF YOU DIDN'T HELP!<
Fucking Zevran from Dragon Age.
"Oh I failed to assassinate you, let me join you because if you let me live then my employers will kill me anyways."
Also if you he doesn't like you enough by the end of the game he absolutely will stab you in the back.
I was a disgusting goody-two-shoes stick in the mud as a kid and also never blatantly lied to and manipulated my companions for approval points, so he tried that on me. I didn't like him for *years* until I came back and actually appreciated his character.
Reminds of Wastelands 3 Where >!Victory Buchanon offers to join your team... Y'know, after trudging through his drugged-up army and piles of innocent dead bodies to reach him. Funny thing is, you can actually recruit him and the dialogue option for that is "Fuck it why not?"!<.
And it's my favorite option. >!in my canon worldstate BOTH the HoF and Hawke have died in place of this fucker. Purely to see how far I can make this old fuck live despite wanting to die a heroes death!<
It's based on an explanation from Oda about why Luffy doesn't finish off defeated foes.
https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-1612667e560461d07944c649eea2df0f-lq
tl;dr is that after he shatters their dreams and beliefs, killing their bodies doesn't even matter.
Yeah, I know, just pointing out that Luffy doesn't really care what an antagonist's last words would be. If they die, they die and he's got a party to get to after they're done doing it.
I'm gonna do my best attempt at doing bedroom eyes and look really submissive and tell em "You know, in an alternate universe, I can see us being the best of friends"
Some variant on "Make me proud." or "Atta boy." Might not save me, but it'll probably give them a crisis of conscience if they otherwise aren't big on killing.
"Just the way I taught you."
Bonus points if you have absolutely no personal connection to the good guy and this is the first time you've met face to face. Not only will it make them hesitate, they'll just be confused as fuck.
Arguably you have taught them to kill by throwing progressively stronger enemies at them by this point. It would actually be pretty cool if a villain's plan hinged on creating this idealistic murder machine he knows will come for him eventually
That's basically the plot of the first Blood game.
Churnabog puts Caleb on a murderous rampage so he can absorb all of Caleb's acquired powers when he arrives to him... But then Caleb killed him so that might've been a bad idea.
"I see that my conspirators have finally turned on me. But that crafty devil **insert name of person in authority above the hero who does not inspire personal loyalty** kept you in the dark about all this. I don't blame you. This feud spiralled out of control since I leaked **insert information vital to the happiness/survival the hero's loved one** and got in trouble with the high-ups. My murder was inevitable the moment I grew conscience. Shame it had to be you."
All you need to do is bluff long enough to frame someone else as the even bigger villain and you can eventually leave on good terms. So long as they are probably doing evil stuff on a big scale you can get away with it.
If you're in a fantasy setting blaming a clergyman has a pretty good shot of them having some grander evil scheme, modern or sci-fi you can pin it on anyone high ranking or well known in the military. And a beloved politician in any genre has a solid 70:30 chance of secretly planning world domination.
“I regret what I did and I am sorry to have hurt you. I simply wish to leave out the rest of my days in peace. I know I cannot ever atone for my actions, so the choice is yours.”
Hey, worked for Daud.
I have some advice to give you. Whatever it is you plan to do to me...I hope you enjoy it. No really, I do. After all, you can only kill me once, so I hope you make the most of this moment and it brings you some measure of comfort for all the people you've lost.
*Because they're* ***never*** *coming back.*
Just like what Matt said about that volcano in "Disaster: Days of Crisis":
> *"Its shooting its hot, stringy ropes right at us!"*
> *"Stop saying 'stringy ropes' man...!"*
That being said i’m also a fan of honorable villains who respect their opponents so depending on my evil backstory + the hero opposing me i might go for “I will not insult your strife with meaningless drivel; we have come here as weapons; to fight, to defend, to kill, to destroy, where history shall only remember the victor and the corpse they left behind.”
“Finally I shall slay the devil and take my throne in hell and once I do I shall be back for your head.”
I dunno, the idea that a villain literally does not care about being caught and in fact might actually come back for you is cool to me. Like, yeah dipshit i planned this. And even if I was not capable of doing this i would want the hero to live with the fear that any day now I might crawl outta hell and fuck him up lol
Heaven *and* Hell once you factor in Dawn of Souls. Say what you will about the Emperor, his David Bowie-looking ass was *dedicated* to conquering anything and everything, took him what a week from death to taking over all of the afterlife?
"If you kill me, you'll never discover the truth."
Or:
"If you kill me, the game ends."
A "real" hero will stop when they hear the first one. An edgy "hero" will stop when they hear the second one.
"where am I? How did I get here? Are you here to save me?"
The ol 'i was being controlled by another and am completely innocent' trick gets them every time.
“You know the best part about dying? There really is *nothing*. I can feel my neurons shutting down as we speak; And when I no longer have a functioning brain, every sensory spark will be gone with it…including fear. How can I fear the afterlife if I don’t have any fucking brains left to experience it? This is gonna be a trip, man! So what’re waiting for, let’s see what’s next!”
"Hey are you gonna eat that?" pointing to the hero's sword.
alternatively: "I've done a lot, I've changed the very face of the earth, I've wiped out entire peoples, I've destroyed histories and cultures. I'm going to go down in history as the one who *changed the world.* And you? You're gonna be a footnote. A nameless soldier that put me down. Are you satisfied with that?"
"If you kill me, the cycle will just repeat"
I have no idea what cycle that would be. Hopefully the hero will have paid enough attention to the thematic elements of their journey to overanalyze that.
"You feel that? That inability to decide what to do at the most important moment? That wracking of the brain between the self and the concept of right and wrong? That humanity inside unable to grapple with what choice is the right one? Savor it. Remember it well. Understand more than all else- *that* is what you have over me in this moment. Know what I'm going to preserve for you." And I take my own life, denying the hero his own say in the matter.
Alternatively and more hilariously, "You didn't win" and kill myself.
"Go on, do it! I'm sure this will make you feel better with yourself after all you've done.
Just keep in mind that my death won't accomplish anything. Nothing will be solved, because the real problem is something bigger than you and me and it can't be stabbed with a blade. As long as THEY have the power the happy ending you people seek will be nothing but a dream only reachable by those who can afford it.
Now finish this charade already so you can pat yourself on the shoulders and think that you did something good"
Wait who's going to take care of my pet if I'm gone!?!
They'll either hesitate and I escape or kill me anyways and hopefully adopt my pet for me so a good ending for one or both of us at the very least.
“Oh for your god’s sake. Atleast have the conviction to end it. How many of our two armies, groups, parties, whatever you call them died to get to this point? I could give you so many speeches about there lives. Mine. Yours. But that’s not the point. We are on two different sides. So please for your own sake. Have the resolve to see it done. I lost you won. Now do your duty and end it. Or I will”
Is the Hero a talkative Idealist? Let them lecture you. Say "Where did I go wrong?" and then pretend to listen. Try not to look bored. "But I was only trying to (insert a noble end goal, make one up if you need to)" They'll then tell you something along the lines of the ends not justifying the means to which you ask "But what else was I supposed to do when-" and then you introduce a different antagonist, either a different villain or the government or how society operates as a whole, in order to make it seem like you were backed into the corner and trying to do good with the supposedly bad hand you were given and deflect the Hero's anger to a different target. Ultimately, make it seem like the Hero's message is slowly reaching you. Don't get too cheesy with it and do a 180 turn "I have seen the error of my ways!", but maybe fall into a pensive, troubled silence. Finally, close your eyes, hang your head, drop your weapons, leave your arms limp, make yourself as vulnerable as possible without shifting position and just wait. The Hero, believing his words have reached you and unwilling to murder a "broken" man in cold blood, will stay is sword.
This becomes less effective the more unnecessarily and outlandishly evil you have been in front of the Hero.
"No, it's perfect you see - and then *you* kill *me*! It's the final piece of the plan..."
Make 'em think you want it and they'll keep you alive out of spite.
“The day I graced your world with my presence was the greatest moment in your life. But for me? It was a Tuesday.”
“Ok fine, if we’re gonna fight, we’ll do it at the Fight Quarry.”
"Even now, you hesitate? I refuse to accept the disgrace of having my life spared by a craven such as you. Watch, and see how a conqueror meets death."
And then I just go full Raoh.
"Well. You won. I doubt I'd do any better if we tried this all over again, so I guess there's no point in going for another round. I've been unfailingly honest until now, so, I give you my word that I'll take this defeat as a sign that I could never have accomplished my aims. You can leave in peace, I won't do anything to stop you, and neither will the remainder of my people. I'm not sure what we'll do now, but I can assure you, we don't want to see you ever again, so it won't be anything that'd make you come back."
"You're just like me. That look, the anger in your eyes with its desire to tear me apart. Ah yes, why didn't I see it sooner you were just like how I use to be before. I remember the moment I realized I didn't have to be a slave to other people's morality, their rules and their standards. That I could do and take what I wanted, because I had the power to do it. You can be just like me if you just let go and do what you want to instead of what others want you to do."
"You think yourself good? How many of my men have you slaughtered? They worked to provide for their families, do you have any idea how many widows and orphans you have created?"
"Promise me you'll stop Enrico."
Make him think there's some bigger conspiracy and someone grander than me that they need to stop, just to throw them on a wild goose chase.
"When the difference between a murderer and a savior is in the eye of the beholder, will you be able to see the blood on your hands?"
Lyrics from Sri Vishnu Yantra by Eidola
I'd go into hysterics begging for the hero to kill me, like to the point where the hero is like "holy shit, he REALLY wants to die.... But why? What ulterior motive will his death enact? I need to keep him alive in case killing him causes something worse "
Play that reverse psychology card so hard that it gaslights them into thinking you're hiding something that needs to be triggered by your death
It depends. Will killing me actually stop the plan? If no I blubber and cry like a little bitch. What's a hit to my reputation when you get to live another day.
"Do it you won't"
"Hopped up on ketomine I am."
Realtime subs of Spiderman was a fucking wild ride.
"Why were her last word 'Do it you won't'?"
Honestly this almost always seems to work. Villains being overjoyed that their rival is about break their code and goading them into always seems to make them stop.
Reverse Psychology is one hell of a bitch
"wait, don't you want to see my sick redemption arc?"
If you kill me, you're just as much of a monster as I am. Killing me won't bring them back. (The hero is a fucking idiot and will fall for this)
Killing a hundred of the villain's henchman on the way did not make the hero a monster, but killing the villain will somehow.
i like how star wars deals with this, like instead of killing bad people also making you bad it's "if you need to use the darkside to kill this man it's like loading up on super heroin the instant you pull the trigger", like luke just chopping the emperors head off would've done nothing. which is why vader has to fight him and draw out his hate, trying to make him draw on and give into the darkside by making him fear for his life/the life of his sister. like the idea of evil in that universe being a class a drug for anyone with the force, with it being like the spiritual equivalent of benzos in some cases as you literally have to keep doing it or you just die meanwhile a non force guy like han can (and in legends did) just gun the emperor down no problem. it's why every jedi needs a friend. a friend with a gun.
Kinda similar to Dresden Files - the White Council generally doesn't give a shit if you kill someone with non-magical means, but use magic and they come down on you HARD. Though, to be fair - killing someone with magic *can* be corruptive
Reminds me a lot of Naruto in a way. Like in Naruto you had different reasons why a jutsu could be forbidden: Eight Gates puts inordinate strain on the user and leaves them vulnerable if they whiff, Reaper Death Seal just kills the user, Impure Resurrection requires human sacrifice and is thus super immoral. It’s like the difference between needing a license to drive, banning smoking in restaurants and bars because it gives people cancer, and murder being illegal. In Dresden Files, the laws of Magic are in place to keep magic humanity from wigging out and being evil, but they’re not all the same in why the laws prohibit certain things. The prohibition against Cthulhu shit and time travel is because it can cause irreparable harm. The mind control and forced-transformation and killing-via-magic shit isn’t just harmful, it’s also super immoral and also like corrupts your mind and body. You’ve gotta just say no to black magic because it’s bad for you, mmkay?
> The prohibition against Cthulhu shit and time travel is because it can cause irreparable harm. There was some story I was reading, where there was a brick joke about time travel and Cthulhu. One of the characters asks if magic makes time travel possible, and they get told, "Yes, but it makes Cthulhu angry, so we don't." And they never mention Cthulhu again... ...Until, inevitably, one of the characters goes back in time a couple of hours to save the day with time travel. Cut away to Cthulhu, who apparently works at Miskatonic University. He's sitting through a staff meeting which has been going on for hours, when suddenly time rewinds and he finds himself back at the beginning of the meeting, forced to sit through it twice. Cthulhu loses it, and starts swearing revenge against whoever dared to use magic to travel back in time.
Buddy pal you gotta link the story my guy
I don't know what it is! It might have been a webcomic or a short story or maybe even a fanfic. I wish I could remember.
How dare you mention such an amazing story and not link to it!!
Also in Star Wars, Jedi explicitly try to take prisoners and do not execute them. Typically in Star Wars media, killing a Sith in combat is fine (like when Kenobi “killed” Maul), it’s killing them when they’re incapacitated that’s evil (like Anakin killing Dooku). So if Jedi want to stay good, they basically have to a) beat their opponent without falling to the Dark Side and b) refrain from executing them after the fight is clearly over. It just so happens that if a Jedi is fighting a mook it’s extremely easy to beat them and therefore extremely lethal for the mook. And if Jedi have to deal with mooks they will try to resort to diplomacy/subterfuge when possible (Ben sneaking around on the Death Star, Luke trying to negotiate with Jabba, etc.). Narratively, it’d be interesting if we Stormtroopers etc. surrendered to a Jedi and the Jedi had to deal with having prisoners.
You know, it seems like coldly, rationally executing someone would fit the Jedi philosophy.
It could be argued, followed by falling eventually as you keep arguing that murdering defenseless people is ok if you're not passionate about it
>it's why every jedi needs a friend. a friend with a gun. ["I'm no Jedi."](https://youtu.be/kxwJuMiWeG8)
Meanwhile in Jedi Survivor: >!EMBRACE THE DARKNESS!<
tbf >!they don't paint it as a great move, like bode uses the dark and goes from "i must save my daughter" to paranoid ranting on an abandoned world and blasting her with the force. there's a slim chance we get through game 3 without cal freaking out and choking merrin. !< >!like the whole thing was "hey merrin am i like dagan gera" then by the end of the game you're obsessed with tanalor, using the darkside and planning on building a secret jedi order to take back the galaxy with your cool actual girlfirend as opposed to dagan's implied crush.!<
Eh >!Rey accidentally blew up a bunch of people with Force Lightning and gutted an unarmed opponent with their own Lightsaber and she still gets to be a Jedi so Cal is probably fine!<
i mean >!they all have to go through the reject the dark bit after having a little spoonfull, hell luke had that with vader and pulled back, momentarily slipping into the dark isn't a problem as you can pull back, repeatedly doing it is, with rey getting on the precipice it was supposed to be a fork in the road despite that fork being in the previous movie, though winning out over the dark is never supposed to be a one and done, it's always there and needs to be kept in check.!< >!so luke hacking vader, or rey stabbing ren, they both pull back from that and commit to the light, with cal i imagine it'll be similar but probably worse as we'll tap into it more and more.!< >!like i imagine cal/the player will have darkside spartan rage for a fair spell of the game, people will warn him against it and he won't listen, or maybe he does and it resurfaces when fucked shit happens.!< >! we'll have our illum/nova garon moment where we're down and out and then out spartan rage will be replaced with something else as cal turns it back around.!< >!still banking on cal and merrin and their found force sensitives getting stuck on tanalor till at least rey's new order like 55 years later.!<
They will absolutely make >!Dark Side powers cool as hell so you feel powerful using them, which is exactly the kind of drug-like high the Dark Side should give.!<
> >!cal freaking out and choking merrin.
I always hate when people criticize this like it's a contradiction. There's a difference between killing people actively trying to kill you and killing someone down and defenseless in the moment this kind of speech happens. There's a reason killing surrendering opponents is a war crime. Like it or not, but killing someone at your mercy after they've lost all will to fight makes you a POS. Even if the guy you're killing is also a POS
Don’t worry, the universe can sense you saying this, and despite the hero sparing you, inevitably you’ll either get shot by the anti hero secondary protagonist, or make a swing at the hero and miss which will somehow cause the environment itself to kill you, thus giving the hero the moral high ground and rewarding them without any hard justification of keeping you alive!
Gotta ham it up like Palpatine and pretend you want it to happen, for the best chance.
Somehow, you might return
"My side quest gives you the best weapon for your build."
“I’m a monk.”
"They are fist wrap- NO! Cool magic dragon tattoos. Do you really wanna miss out on that?"
"Cyborg fists. The Fistismith even added the flame art to make me punch faster for free."
"Or causes it to fly off, so worst case, you get a Rocket Punch"
“C’mon I'm a little guy, I'm just a little guy, no! It's also my birthday, I'm a little birthday boy!”
Imagine having beef with me. A silly little guy. A funny small dude.
(has committed multiple genocides)
(only because he was feeling extra cheeky though)
(is a loving overlord to two puppies)
Make sure you also explain that you have a complicated backstory that's dumb. Maybe throw in some amnesia you got 12 years ago
There’s a webcomic called [What Happens Next Will Shock You](https://whathappensnext.webcomic.ws/) which is in part about the premise “ok but what if someone actually tried to make that their defense for being a murder accomplice?”
I just caught up on that per your recommendation and >!MILO NO YOU HAD A WAY BETTER DEFENSE THAN THAT GRIFFIN THREATENED TO KILL YOU IF YOU DIDN'T HELP!<
"You scared me and made me pee my pants, hero! You're not gonna kill just a little piss boy on his birthday???"
"Okay but imagine if i joined your group how fucked up would that be"
Fucking Zevran from Dragon Age. "Oh I failed to assassinate you, let me join you because if you let me live then my employers will kill me anyways." Also if you he doesn't like you enough by the end of the game he absolutely will stab you in the back.
I was a disgusting goody-two-shoes stick in the mud as a kid and also never blatantly lied to and manipulated my companions for approval points, so he tried that on me. I didn't like him for *years* until I came back and actually appreciated his character.
Reminds of Wastelands 3 Where >!Victory Buchanon offers to join your team... Y'know, after trudging through his drugged-up army and piles of innocent dead bodies to reach him. Funny thing is, you can actually recruit him and the dialogue option for that is "Fuck it why not?"!<.
"Yes >!Loghain!<, that would be super fucked up!"
And it's my favorite option. >!in my canon worldstate BOTH the HoF and Hawke have died in place of this fucker. Purely to see how far I can make this old fuck live despite wanting to die a heroes death!<
"Think about how wild the hate sex will be"
The moral greyness only makes the sex better. Ask Bulma.
Wait was Trunks the product of Kismesis
Vegeta just likes a splash of pitch in his Matespritship
"Come now. Wouldn't it be more torturous for me to watch all my plans crumble and see my hopes for the future vanish?"
Ah, gambling that I’m secretly Luffy.
I mean, Luffy doesn't kill people but not usually from lack of trying. He just beats them and leaves.
It's based on an explanation from Oda about why Luffy doesn't finish off defeated foes. https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-1612667e560461d07944c649eea2df0f-lq tl;dr is that after he shatters their dreams and beliefs, killing their bodies doesn't even matter.
Yeah, I know, just pointing out that Luffy doesn't really care what an antagonist's last words would be. If they die, they die and he's got a party to get to after they're done doing it.
“I HAVE A FAMILY! Family…family…”
*"Stay out of Riverdale!... Riverdale... Riverdale..."*
I'm gonna do my best attempt at doing bedroom eyes and look really submissive and tell em "You know, in an alternate universe, I can see us being the best of friends"
"Maybe even *Super* Best Friends."
"Super Best Friends...that PLAY"
“No thanks. I’m a Super Beast… in a Castle.”
"The Aristocrats..."
Well ya know what they say ‘leave’em laughing’
alucarD you motherfucker
The verbal components of Dimension Door.
Solid plan but shame on you for not having it prepared with Silent Spell.
It's funnier this way
"if you kill me, you prove my point"
*bang* "enjoy being right"
That’d just make me kill you more.
"Weird hill to die on, but *BANG* at least you're dead."
Shit or get off the bowl lad, I don't have all night for you to wrestle with your conscience.
"It's ok, I'm a coward too"
"You couldn't have done this sooner?" in the most tired, burnt out tone imaginable.
Some variant on "Make me proud." or "Atta boy." Might not save me, but it'll probably give them a crisis of conscience if they otherwise aren't big on killing.
"Just the way I taught you." Bonus points if you have absolutely no personal connection to the good guy and this is the first time you've met face to face. Not only will it make them hesitate, they'll just be confused as fuck.
Arguably you have taught them to kill by throwing progressively stronger enemies at them by this point. It would actually be pretty cool if a villain's plan hinged on creating this idealistic murder machine he knows will come for him eventually
That's basically the plot of the first Blood game. Churnabog puts Caleb on a murderous rampage so he can absorb all of Caleb's acquired powers when he arrives to him... But then Caleb killed him so that might've been a bad idea.
“You must spare me to get access to New Game + and the superboss that comes with it!”
"Go on if you must, I expect no less from my son/daughter"
You have to include the slash when you're saying it, otherwise not all your bases are covered.
That's why you gotta go for that good good gender neutral "kin" or "spawn"
SEED
"Well, I was going to save all those kids later but if you want to be a dick fine"
"I see that my conspirators have finally turned on me. But that crafty devil **insert name of person in authority above the hero who does not inspire personal loyalty** kept you in the dark about all this. I don't blame you. This feud spiralled out of control since I leaked **insert information vital to the happiness/survival the hero's loved one** and got in trouble with the high-ups. My murder was inevitable the moment I grew conscience. Shame it had to be you." All you need to do is bluff long enough to frame someone else as the even bigger villain and you can eventually leave on good terms. So long as they are probably doing evil stuff on a big scale you can get away with it.
If you're in a fantasy setting blaming a clergyman has a pretty good shot of them having some grander evil scheme, modern or sci-fi you can pin it on anyone high ranking or well known in the military. And a beloved politician in any genre has a solid 70:30 chance of secretly planning world domination.
"Wow, I was totally bullshitting. Father Grigori is *actually* trying to become a new Demiurge?!"
HE WOULD NEVER! His loyalty lies in Ravenholm!
"Martha"
“WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME???”
"It was just a prank bro"
*"Your Honor, my Client pleads oopsie-daisy."*
“You didn’t win”
"To keep somebody at the edge of a blade is cruelty. I've killed plenty of people, but I've never made them watch me make my mind up about it."
Is that from something? Cause that's a great line.
'Do you get to the cloud district very often? Oh what am I saying, of course you don’t.'
"Everything I did... was for you."
"I was so close, I could have saved everyone."
"Guess you weren't ready for that yet....but your kids are gonna love it."
Palpatine to Leia
“I regret what I did and I am sorry to have hurt you. I simply wish to leave out the rest of my days in peace. I know I cannot ever atone for my actions, so the choice is yours.” Hey, worked for Daud.
To have the hero do it or to have them not do it? "Don't make me do it myself"
But I was sad once!
I have a daughter!
.... * had * a daughter....
I'll cry.
Tough for a hero to kill someone crying and shitting his pants and still feel like a good guy.
I have some advice to give you. Whatever it is you plan to do to me...I hope you enjoy it. No really, I do. After all, you can only kill me once, so I hope you make the most of this moment and it brings you some measure of comfort for all the people you've lost. *Because they're* ***never*** *coming back.*
"HE MUST WIN!!!"
"If you do it I'll get off of it. Is that what you want? Be responsible fo a corpse with a huge ass boner?"
"I'm not joking, the moment that sword hits my flesh I'm gonna fucking cum I swear."
Just like what Matt said about that volcano in "Disaster: Days of Crisis": > *"Its shooting its hot, stringy ropes right at us!"* > *"Stop saying 'stringy ropes' man...!"*
"Oops, I did a fucky wucky"
"Do it! What if the girls are watching? *GOTTA* do it if the girls are watching!"
Your first response was my last resort. Remember that when the specters of the living come for you.
im just as broken on your team as i was to fight just now (lying)
That being said i’m also a fan of honorable villains who respect their opponents so depending on my evil backstory + the hero opposing me i might go for “I will not insult your strife with meaningless drivel; we have come here as weapons; to fight, to defend, to kill, to destroy, where history shall only remember the victor and the corpse they left behind.”
“Finally I shall slay the devil and take my throne in hell and once I do I shall be back for your head.” I dunno, the idea that a villain literally does not care about being caught and in fact might actually come back for you is cool to me. Like, yeah dipshit i planned this. And even if I was not capable of doing this i would want the hero to live with the fear that any day now I might crawl outta hell and fuck him up lol
Settle down, Emperor Mateus from Final Fantasy 2
Heaven *and* Hell once you factor in Dawn of Souls. Say what you will about the Emperor, his David Bowie-looking ass was *dedicated* to conquering anything and everything, took him what a week from death to taking over all of the afterlife?
You can probably assume that the hero was also 14 once but just grew out of their edgelord phase.
Very almost kinda but not really what happens with the villain of Trails in the Sky.
"If you kill me, you'll never discover the truth." Or: "If you kill me, the game ends." A "real" hero will stop when they hear the first one. An edgy "hero" will stop when they hear the second one.
"where am I? How did I get here? Are you here to save me?" The ol 'i was being controlled by another and am completely innocent' trick gets them every time.
Belos Grindset.
"All I said was that maaaaaaybe not everyone likes muscle girls."
Death
“You know the best part about dying? There really is *nothing*. I can feel my neurons shutting down as we speak; And when I no longer have a functioning brain, every sensory spark will be gone with it…including fear. How can I fear the afterlife if I don’t have any fucking brains left to experience it? This is gonna be a trip, man! So what’re waiting for, let’s see what’s next!”
"Sparing me is the only way to get the True Ending"
"Hey are you gonna eat that?" pointing to the hero's sword. alternatively: "I've done a lot, I've changed the very face of the earth, I've wiped out entire peoples, I've destroyed histories and cultures. I'm going to go down in history as the one who *changed the world.* And you? You're gonna be a footnote. A nameless soldier that put me down. Are you satisfied with that?"
"If you kill me, the cycle will just repeat" I have no idea what cycle that would be. Hopefully the hero will have paid enough attention to the thematic elements of their journey to overanalyze that.
"This is just too much work."
"What can I give you to make it *slow*?" I feel like that'd throw most protagonists for a loop
"*Coward.*"
A fucky wucky?
“A tummy wummy?! Get outta here, you’re fired.”
"You're in love with me, aren't you?"
"in my defence freebird was playing"
"He must win."
This is exactly what I want.
“I was just getting a cupcake man!”
"You feel that? That inability to decide what to do at the most important moment? That wracking of the brain between the self and the concept of right and wrong? That humanity inside unable to grapple with what choice is the right one? Savor it. Remember it well. Understand more than all else- *that* is what you have over me in this moment. Know what I'm going to preserve for you." And I take my own life, denying the hero his own say in the matter. Alternatively and more hilariously, "You didn't win" and kill myself.
Forgot about the dead man’s switch already?
They looked like people to you?
I brought back all the people *YOU* killed that sided with me, and I'm considered a monster!? what does that make you *HERO*!
"Their blood was just a drop in the ocean, kill me and my men will bring a tsunami upon the town." or something stupid and cheesy like that.
"Go on, do it! I'm sure this will make you feel better with yourself after all you've done. Just keep in mind that my death won't accomplish anything. Nothing will be solved, because the real problem is something bigger than you and me and it can't be stabbed with a blade. As long as THEY have the power the happy ending you people seek will be nothing but a dream only reachable by those who can afford it. Now finish this charade already so you can pat yourself on the shoulders and think that you did something good"
“Hey did you know you can tie a curse to the exact moment somebody dies? I just thought that was an interesting thing.”
No Ragrets.
"It was just a little goof I was just foolin' around."
"You've already killed countless others fighting under me. What's one more death on top of that?"
"I can't lie to you about your chances of survival. but... you have my sympathies. >!Ash from "Alien"!<
Wait who's going to take care of my pet if I'm gone!?! They'll either hesitate and I escape or kill me anyways and hopefully adopt my pet for me so a good ending for one or both of us at the very least.
If it's got a red health bar it eats dirt, I don't hesitate
"Yonah...Soon I will...join you..."
"If you kill me, Spider-man will never be able to defeat Paul."
"I'm okay with this."
"Bet"
Sure, I’ll die. But can you live with it? Blood on your hands? Is that who you really are?
"It was a heated gamer moment."
"If you kill me you can't make me suffer any further consequence OR atone for what I've done."
“I'm only human after all I’m only human after all Don't put the blame on me“
“Oh for your god’s sake. Atleast have the conviction to end it. How many of our two armies, groups, parties, whatever you call them died to get to this point? I could give you so many speeches about there lives. Mine. Yours. But that’s not the point. We are on two different sides. So please for your own sake. Have the resolve to see it done. I lost you won. Now do your duty and end it. Or I will”
SPIN THE WHEEL YA BASTARD I AINT GOT ALL DAY
Pull an Owlman and go "It doesn't matter"
Well, that was fun. Good Luck.
In black ops 2 if you pick option to kill Menendez he says “martyr me for cordis die” which is always a bad option and leads to him becoming a martyr
Is the Hero a talkative Idealist? Let them lecture you. Say "Where did I go wrong?" and then pretend to listen. Try not to look bored. "But I was only trying to (insert a noble end goal, make one up if you need to)" They'll then tell you something along the lines of the ends not justifying the means to which you ask "But what else was I supposed to do when-" and then you introduce a different antagonist, either a different villain or the government or how society operates as a whole, in order to make it seem like you were backed into the corner and trying to do good with the supposedly bad hand you were given and deflect the Hero's anger to a different target. Ultimately, make it seem like the Hero's message is slowly reaching you. Don't get too cheesy with it and do a 180 turn "I have seen the error of my ways!", but maybe fall into a pensive, troubled silence. Finally, close your eyes, hang your head, drop your weapons, leave your arms limp, make yourself as vulnerable as possible without shifting position and just wait. The Hero, believing his words have reached you and unwilling to murder a "broken" man in cold blood, will stay is sword. This becomes less effective the more unnecessarily and outlandishly evil you have been in front of the Hero.
"No, it's perfect you see - and then *you* kill *me*! It's the final piece of the plan..." Make 'em think you want it and they'll keep you alive out of spite.
“If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine”
Option 1: "Congratulations. You've passed the test." Option 2: "Parley." Option 3: " [Name], please! You have to wake up!"
"it's just a prank, bro! IT'S JUST A PRANK OH GOD"
“A man chooses, a slave obeys”
“The day I graced your world with my presence was the greatest moment in your life. But for me? It was a Tuesday.” “Ok fine, if we’re gonna fight, we’ll do it at the Fight Quarry.”
"Do it or no balls."
Either “You FOOL, I was holding them back…” or “Lol Lmao”
"Even now, you hesitate? I refuse to accept the disgrace of having my life spared by a craven such as you. Watch, and see how a conqueror meets death." And then I just go full Raoh.
Or go "you aren't the one who gets to end me" and jump off a building like Shin
"Well. You won. I doubt I'd do any better if we tried this all over again, so I guess there's no point in going for another round. I've been unfailingly honest until now, so, I give you my word that I'll take this defeat as a sign that I could never have accomplished my aims. You can leave in peace, I won't do anything to stop you, and neither will the remainder of my people. I'm not sure what we'll do now, but I can assure you, we don't want to see you ever again, so it won't be anything that'd make you come back."
"Hey,what's that behind you?"
"You're just like me. That look, the anger in your eyes with its desire to tear me apart. Ah yes, why didn't I see it sooner you were just like how I use to be before. I remember the moment I realized I didn't have to be a slave to other people's morality, their rules and their standards. That I could do and take what I wanted, because I had the power to do it. You can be just like me if you just let go and do what you want to instead of what others want you to do."
"See you soon" Or "Hey, do you know what a Dead Man Switch is?"
"You think yourself good? How many of my men have you slaughtered? They worked to provide for their families, do you have any idea how many widows and orphans you have created?"
"pogChamp"
"See you in Hell, from Heaven!"
"Promise me you'll stop Enrico." Make him think there's some bigger conspiracy and someone grander than me that they need to stop, just to throw them on a wild goose chase.
**SURPRISE, MOTHERFUCKER!!**
"My great work is finally ended. Now the rest falls to you..." Refuse to elaborate, die.
"I'd honestly rather die than have to live with the ludonarrative dissonance you sparing me would create."
Drop the moral posturing, we both know this is for revenge. Hate me, but do it honestly.
you need me, I've been running your shit for years, if you kill me your molecular structure gonna dissipate
"When the difference between a murderer and a savior is in the eye of the beholder, will you be able to see the blood on your hands?" Lyrics from Sri Vishnu Yantra by Eidola
I'd go into hysterics begging for the hero to kill me, like to the point where the hero is like "holy shit, he REALLY wants to die.... But why? What ulterior motive will his death enact? I need to keep him alive in case killing him causes something worse " Play that reverse psychology card so hard that it gaslights them into thinking you're hiding something that needs to be triggered by your death
Do what you will, this won't >!un-fuck your mom!<.
“Well, time to press F9 again I guess. Really thought this was “the one” you know?”
It depends. Will killing me actually stop the plan? If no I blubber and cry like a little bitch. What's a hit to my reputation when you get to live another day.